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Polly Ferman (Montevideo, Uruguay; October 21 1944) is a pianist, classical musician, music director, producer, and educator.

She has performed as a solo pianist since 1947 and recorded more than 15 albums. Ferman is known for her repertoire of Latin American and classical music including artists Piazzola, Villa-Lobos, Albéniz, Binelli, Chabrier, Gottschalk, Joplin, and Nazareth. Ferman has toured extensively around the world and performed at international venues including New York’s Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, the Buenos Aires Teatro Colon, Tokyo’s Takemitsu Hall, London’s St. Martin in the Fields, Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, Bogota’s Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, and Shanghai’s Oriental Art Center. Ferman has performed with prestigious orchestras including the Tokyo Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, Argentine National Symphonies, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Toronto Symphony, Sao Paulo State Symphony Orchestra, and many others.

Ferman is the founder of PAMAR, Pan American Musical Art Research, Inc (PAMAR), a non-profit that promotes Latin American music and cultures. She created the Latin American Cultural Week (LACW) in New York which has showcased over 1,000 performers between 2006 to present. Ferman is also noted for her glass-ceiling shattering production Glamour Tango. Glamour Tango features an all-female cast (dancers, musicians, producers) and is a celebration of women in tango.

She exhibited signs of a gifted musical artist at a young age and won her first international piano prize at age 9 and played with the Montevideo symphony at age 11. She has played as a duet and in groups with Daniel Binelli since 1998.

Early life
Polly Ferman was born in Montevideo, Uruguay on October 21 1944. Her father, Samuel (Shura), immigrated from present-day Ukraine to Uruguay when he was ten years old. Her mother, Rosa, was also of Ukrainian heritage and was born in Argentina and later moved to Uruguay. From a young age, Polly was inclined towards musical instruments and showed signs of being musically gifted. After hearing three-year old Polly playing the xylophone, the school’s director requested a meeting with Polly’s parents to tell them that she had a very good ear and should study music. Her mother enrolled her in a conservatory and from ages 3 to 14 Ferman attended Juan Sebastian Bach music conservatory in Montevideo, Uruguay where she studied under Uruguayan composer, Santiago Baranda Reyes.

At seven years old, Polly gave her first piano concert to 500 people in Montevideo, Uruguay. At age 9, she won two international competitions for piano playing including the Juventud Musicales Competition. At age 11, Polly played with the SODRE Symphony Orchestra in Montevideo. In 1958, Polly graduated from the conservatory at age 15 as a pianist and teacher of piano playing and music theory.

1960-1980: Career Beginnings and Canal 4
Between 1960 and 1980, Ferman developed professionally as a journalist and anchor for TV, radio, and newspaper in Uruguay and Argentina. She produced television shows for Canal 4 (Uruguayan TV channel). Throughout her life, Ferman made a pledge to give back to those less who are fortunate. During these years, she continued to give back by producing a TV program, Las Tres Tareas de la Buena Montaña (Three Steps for Goodwill), where she visited hospitals to select individuals who would be beneficiaries from the money coming from the TV program. She also worked for a TV program in Argentina as a news anchor.

1981-1990: PAMAR and Piano Music by Ernesto Nazareth
In 1982 at the age of 38, Polly came to New York City and gave piano concerts while also working for a U.S. company. In 1984, she founded and became the artistic director of the Pan American Musical Art Research, Inc (PAMAR) (http://pamar.org). PAMAR is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes appreciation and understanding of Latin American countries and cultures. She founded PAMAR after coming across people who had never heard of Uruguay or did not know where it was located. Polly realized that she could aid better understanding of her home heritage and culture by creating PAMAR and using it as a vehicle to promote Latin American arts and culture.

Polly released her first album Piano Music by Ernesto Nazareth in 1987. The album featured classical waltzes ad tangos by the Brazilian pianist and composer: Ernesto Nazareth. Her second album, Waltzes of the Americas, was released in 1990 and features classical compositions by Nazareth, Luis Cluzeau Mortet, Joplin and others. During these years, she traveled between New York, Uruguay, and Argentina to record and perform her music. Her recordings provide one of the most extensive collections of Latin American repertoire featuring the music of Nazareth, Ariel Ramirez, and Lecuona.

1991-1998: Musical Ambassador of the Americas in Japan and Habaneras, Milongas, Tangos
Between 1991 to 1998, Polly lived in Japan and she performed at many venues, touring the country per an invite by the Prince Tomohito of Mikasa. Ferman went on a 5 week tour to 25 institutions in Japan where she played her Latin American repertoire at various health institutions, churches, and concert halls. As a result of these engagements, Ferman was named the “Musical Ambassador of the Americas” by The Japan Times. Her third album Habaneras, Milongas, Tangos was released in 1994 and features classical composers including Gottschalk, Cervantes, Stravinsky, and others.

1998-2003: Imágenes: Argentina Y Uruguay – del Campo a la Ciudad
During a 100-year celebration between Argentina and Japan in 1998, Ferman facilitated a concert by the Argentine Symphony Orchestra for a celebratory performance in Tokyo. At this event she met Daniel Binelli who was the Bandoneonist in the symphony. Upon meeting Daniel Binelli in 1998, she became more deeply introduced to tango music and added tango into her repertoire. In 2000 she moved back to New York City. Over the next 40 years, Polly and Daniel would perform together, create shows, and wrote and played music in various albums including Imágenes: Argentina Y Uruguay, Orquestango I, and Orquestango II. Daniel Binelli invited Polly to be the pianist of his quintet in 2001.

2004-present: LACW and Glamour Tango
n 2006, Polly founded the Latin American Cultural Week (LACW). LACW is a New York-based weeklong event that features music, dance, visual arts, film, theater, and literature from Latin American, Caribbean, and Spanish artists. Each year, artists travelled to New York to perform at various cultural institutions across the City. LACW has led increased visibility and exposure of Latin music, culture and heritage through performances of over 1,000 artists and groups who have performed in New York City and the surrounding boroughs.

In 2008, Polly created Glamour Tango, a celebration of women in tango through a unique multimedia production combining music, dance, and visual arts. Polly directs Glamour Tango and performs as the pianist. Glamour Tango is centered on women’s empowerment, women’s roles in the history and development of tango. Featuring an all-female cast of musicians, dancers, directors, and producers, Polly created the show as an homage to woman in tango; a notable diversion from the male-centric focus of tango where women are not typically the protagonist. Ferman’s show instead features the leading moves of women through the all-female cast.

In November 2022, Ferman became an Academic Correspondent of the Argentine National Academy of Tango (Academia Nacional del Tango de la República Argentina) in Buenos Aires. The Academy, originally founded by Uruguayan Horacio Ferrer, provides workshops, shows, and seminars on tango.

Personal life
Ferman currently resides in Valencia, Spain. She has three children, 10 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild.

Discography

 * Piano Music by Ernesto Nazareth, PAMAR/Sadaic, 1987
 * Waltzes of the Americas (Valses de los Américas), SADAIC-AADI-CAPIF, 1990
 * Habaneras, Milongas, Tangos, PAMAR/Sadaic, 1994
 * Ernesto Lecuona - Danzas Cubanas, SABAM/TALENT, 1995
 * Argentine Piano Music, Polly Ferman, Polly Ferman/PAMAR, 1997
 * Música para piano de Ariel Ramírez, PAMAR/SADAIC, 2000
 * Imágenes (with Daniel Binelli), EPSA Music, 2001
 * Orquestango I (with Daniel Binelli & the Montevideo Philharmonic), SONDOR, 2003
 * Orquestango II (with Daniel Binelli & the Montevideo Philharmonic), SONDOR, 2004
 * Polly Ferman’s GlamourTango (Tango in Feminine Form), Sedaic, 2004
 * New Tango Vision, Raices, 2006
 * Tango Fado Project, Sorel Classics, 2015
 * Tango in The Night (with Daniel Binelli, German Guitierrez, Leanne Nicholls and Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra), ORCHID CLASSICS, 2021